Domestic Violence and the Future of the Family: Implications for National Development in Nigeria

Abstract

Domestic violence is a serious threat to the future of the family and survival of the human race worldwide. The level at which domestic violence occurs on daily basis is worrisome and a great threat not only to the future of the family but also with dire consequence on national development. Domestic violence affects both men, women and children, but women are much more likely than men to be more vulnerable because of the socio-cultural dominance ascribed to men in the society. This study interrogated the nexus between domestic violence and the future of the family and its implications on national development in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to identify the forces that encourage domestic violence, find out the prevalence of domestic violence, determine the role of criminal justice in handling domestic violence and assess how domestic violence impacts on the future of the family and national development in Nigeria. The focused group discussion and key informant interview were used to elicit qualitative data for the study. The frustration-aggression and social learning theories were adopted as theoretical framework of analysis. Data were gathered from content review of corpus of literature on domestic violence. The study finding shows that the pattern and intensity in which domestic violence was perpetuated with regards to killings and other violent crimes pose serious threat to the future and survival of the family with great effects on the national development of the country. The study found that criminal justice is hamstring with regards to domestic violence; thereby providing a gateway for the current impunity experienced in the country. The study recommends amongst others, effective enforcement of severe sanctions for domestic violence and government withdrawal of children from parents alleged of domestic violence in order to protect such children from harm and life psychological trauma.